Note: We've asked readers to let us know their own stories of how the denial of the autism epidemic and the constant push to make autism "the new normal" has negatively affected their own families, or themselves if they are on the spectrum.

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Thanks to C for sharing this story of her sons' autism. Please send your stories to me KimRossi1111@gmail.com. Thank you.

Hi. I have 2 sons (A, 22, ASD and B, 21, PDD-NOS).

My son, A (22) is very smart. Got straight-A’s in high school, and even scored in the superior range in his Social Studies Texas TAKS test (high school assessment). Basically, the following is an example of why, even though he is “high functioning”, he’ll never function normally (hold a job, drive, marry….):

One weekend, his favorite YouTube video game player was having a “video-thon” to raise money for a children’s cancer research fund. By Saturday night, he was furious and yelling how their constant asking for money, and the dollar amounts scrolling on the bottom was “RUINING EVERYTHING” of his video enjoyment. He said it was just making everyone feel bad about not even contributing $5. I said that we could contribute $5, thinking it would make him feel better; it made him happy. About 5 minutes later, I heard screams from his room. “They’re still asking for money!” he yelled at me, fists raised, when I entered the room.

Also, just an observation. Twenty years ago, I had never heard of Autism. At first, when I told people about Autism, they had never heard of it either. As the years have gone by, when I mention that my sons are on the spectrum, they not only know what it is, but always have a kid next door, niece, nephew, grandchild, or child of their own on the spectrum. The funny part is, no one mentions knowing someone on the spectrum who is an older neighbor, aunt, uncle, dad, mom, brother, or sister. If diagnosis have gotten so much better, where are the 2-3% of adults on the spectrum?

Comments

My grandson, 26, has autism. His mother had travelled to South Africa in her 3rd or 4th month of pregnancy and in those days, Lariam to prevent Malaria was prescribed to be taken 2 or 4 weeks before, during, and 2 or 4 weeks after the travel. I strongly suspect that Lariam is the cause of my handsome grandson’s autism.
Posted by Marlise Marchand

Hi Gayle, I'm with Rebecca Lee and Grace- Don't give up on improving your son's health and therefore his reactions and sensitivities. I speak from experience- I was given a series of injections at age 2 that must have been gamma globulins with mercury. Yes, the real problem is the mercury and it can take decades to leave the human body. I noticed that I was still improving in my 40's and 50's- eyesight improving, less sensitivity to touch. Shyness waning No more night terrors . In fact, I would have improved earlier if I had stopped more mercury entering my body through fish , vaccines and dental mercury (silver fillings that are 50% mercury) I would say "Better late than never" . why don't you contact Jake Crosby of Autism Investigated - He took some injections of vitamins and supplements as a teenager, that turned his life around. My own suggestions are Haritake, Nordic Natural Fish Oil, Sublingual vitamin B complex- but there are many more products that add up to a healthy body that excretes mercury faster.

My response to C's story of her adult son. As an adult Aspie I've spent my whole life struggling with the sort of situation this young man found himself in. One problem is we find it hard to say no to pressure. What I would say to my own son would be, ignore what anyone else says. Concentrate on coping with your own life. Don't allow people to make you feel guilty (given who's landed us in this fix in the first place). If you decide at some point in the future that you want to give money to a certain charity, think carefully about it, then it will be your own decision. The other problem we have is being distracted. I think that has also improved for me due to following the above attitude.

Gayle, Your son was not stricken with "illness"; autism and its spectrum are caused by man-made toxic substances, with toxic vaccine injections being an overwhelming culprit. It's easy for the general public to believe the autism spectrum in anything but vaccines, as they've been constantly lied to by our national health leaders whose only interest is to retain their immense power and stature (and huge salaries), and they are completely unconcerned about the scores of millions of lives and families they have destroyed.

As Grace said, there's some chance of your son's recovery; much information on such recovery has been referenced here on Age of Autism, and there are a good number of books on the subject.

I agree that there won't be a magic pill to cure autism. So many bodily systems are damaged by autism (neurological, gastrointestinal, metabolic, etc.) that it's hard to see how medication could be a fix. The amount and kind of damage varies between affected individuals. And then, there is likely a genetic susceptibility to the environmental triggers for autism - an inability to detoxify, for example.

But I think there should be extensive, intensive, focused research to identify what has gone awry in the bodies and brains of children and adults (those who want a cure) with autism. Every bodily system should be examined. There should be much more research on adolescents and adults, too. Not much out there right now - research on treatment, therapy, and cure dry up around the time individuals reach puberty. Similarly, there's not much research on how to help those with severe autism - other than on drugs to render those individuals sleepy and compliant. And there should be research on how to ameliorate intellectual disability, and take advantage of brain plasticity. I refuse to believe that those with intellectual ability can't continue to learn throughout their lives. I see it as a snowball rolling downhill - the more one learns, the more one CAN learn.

We can't come up with good solutions until we know more about what's going wrong. Biomedical intervention has worked for some kids, but there are few for whom it's provided a complete recovery. And there hasn't been anything new in biomedical for over a decade. So many treatments seem promising at first - and then not so much.

And finally, there should be a lot more supports and services available for those like my son and Gayle's, who are adults and may not recover fully. It would be helpful if the neurodiversity movement actually helped families hands-on, instead of always telling us what we're doing wrong. I've never had anyone in the neurodiversity movement who actually wanted to spend any time with my son. I've read online that some families have invited outspoken neurodiversity advocates to come to their homes and provide advice and hands-on assistance with severely impaired autistic adults. I haven't read that it's happened though. Always easier to criticize than to help, I suppose.

I agree with Grace that the answer is to detoxify. And to detoxify from mercury which from my experience is what is bothering your son. I say this because that combination of brilliance and eccentricity is very mercurial. Mercurial in the sense that your son has more mercury stuck in his body than is good for him.
So detox him. The only way to do this without making the situation worse is the Andy Cutler protocol.

Gayle, I have some idea of the misery of your situation, and that of your son, but I'm afraid to say, medication never cures anything. Medication causes autism, and many other conditions besides, and the only solution to the problem is to detoxify from that poisoning. Medications are used by the mainstream medical system to ameliorate symptoms, but there are always side effects, so it's better to avoid them. A toxic-free life-style will be a good starting place. Hoping you find something that works for your son.
Grace.

When I was growing up back in the 50s and 60s no one had ever heard of autism because it was so rare-1 in 10,000. The first I heard of it was the movie Rain Man. Shortly afterwards my son was diagnosed with autism. I know so many families with autism now and yet we still don't have a medication that can CURE this dreaded illness. My son is an adult now and I'm very worried about his future and the future of the thousands like him.